epic fail, man.

there are days that i fail. miserably. (shhh… don’t tell my husband I said that out loud). i fail at being a mom, a wife, a daughter, an arbonne consultant, a business owner, a friend. i usually fail at at least one of these things every single day. on rare occasion it’s all of them. on the same day. uggghh…

truth is i’ve become okay with this. i thank my lucky stars i have what and whom i have in my life. whether it’s to bring me closer to God, or to teach me a lesson. failing is super okie dokie with me. now, don’t get me wrong. it still sucks to fail.

we have some truly amazing leaders -not some, a whole truckload of them!- in Arbonne. and many of them mention ‘failing forward’. this concept of failing forward refers to: fail, so that you can become better. fail, so that you can grow and change. it’s like falling forward, but then you catch yourself right before you hit the ground. hopefully.

i like that my kids are watching me fail and pick myself back up. sometimes it takes longer to get back up than other times, but the point is i do. and i do it quicker and quicker.. and they see this. they’re watching. they’re paying more attention than i will ever know. but i want to do my very best and work hard enough for them to see it. and if i fail, it’s okay to let them see it. i want them to know that sometimes things just don’t always pan out exactly the way we think they will. God has a mightier plan than we do. it’s more beautiful, more crazy and probably a lot harder to achieve or finish than we anticipate. but isn’t it worth it?

i think so.

Right place, right time

There was a time, not too long ago, when I poo-pooed network marketing. Yep. Me. Miss “I’m so madly in love with what I do and with Arbonne”, because I truly am.

I wasn’t always. Wanna know why?… it was because I was completely uninformed and uneducated about this industry. First of all, I had no idea there was so many NWM (NetWork Marketing) or direct sales companies. I knew of about 3 or 4. And I didn’t like any of their products.

After doing extensive research and asking a LOT of questions to many different companies, I finally landed on Arbonne. I looked at many different things when comparing companies; how much to get started? Were the products in demand – do people need them and do they WANT them? How old is the company? How well known is it? (I wanted a company that was practically breaking ground, yet mature). Do I like/use the products? And are the products consumable?

Truth is, Arbonne met all of these criteria beautifully. 

1. It meets marketplace demands. The health and wellness industry is also EXPLODING!!! So, not only are you getting into the NWM industry, you’re also joining forces of an entirely different industry. In this case, 1 + 1 = AMAZEBALLS.

2. During the great depression there were 3 industries that didn’t lose out – in fact, you could probably find a statistic that these actually flourished during that time – they were; tobacco, alcohol and beauty products. Can you picture it? Folks standing in line for jobs for hours, but gosh darn it all, they were going to be smokin’, drinkin’ and lookin’ fabulous doing it! HA!

3. The company is overflowing with integrity. I NEVER have to wonder if they’re telling the truth about the products. They’re so transparent with the ingredients; where they got them, and why they put each one in the product. I’m excited to say that each product listing on the website includes the ingredient list. We have absolutely nothing to hide.

4. Arbonne attracts all different types of people. Men and women. What we all have in common is a desire to dream big, go for those dreams and help others do the same thing. We all have this freedom ‘chip’ installed in our hearts. It helps us make choices that benefits the whole, not just us. It pushes us to be our BEST selves every single day. Arbonne brings out the best in folks and helps them grow – and most of the time you don’t even know it’s happening.

Arbonne came to us at one of our very lowest points in life. My husband, children and myself are all different and better because that’s what it brought out in us. We prayed for a long time for this amazing gift and it was answered over a cup of coffee at my kitchen table.

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Be inspired by others success, not defeated

Last night I went to a meeting in Syracuse (about an hour and twenty mins from where I live) because I needed some connection with my tribe. My people. My Arbonne family.

And I got it. Along with inspiration, which I knew I’d walk away with, but it wasn’t in the form I was thinking. As usual, God has his own plans and they are far greater than mine.

I often think how nice it would be to be a National Vice President, or a Regional VP – and be driving around Canandaigua in a white Benz with a big beautiful Arbonne sticker on the back window (that’s TOTALLY HAPPENING, btw) beep beep! – or even an Area Manager. Oh how I’d LOVE to be an Area Manager. But I didn’t want to grow to Area so badly until last night at our meeting when 8 women stood in front of the room as Area Managers and told why they were there. It was INCREDIBLY inspiring.

A year ago, this would not have been the case.

A year ago, attending one of these meetings I wanted to be inspired. I wanted not to feel envious, or defeated. I desired to be happy for these amazing people who did the work necessary to get where they are. I desired so badly to be where they were. So much so that my own desire clouded my happiness for them.

I think this is a natural human feeling. I think everyone feels envious, some more than others. I think everyone can say they’ve looked at someone that’s in a position they desire to be in and thought, ‘man, I’ll never get there,’ or ‘I’ll never have that or be that.’

Don’t beat yourself up about having these feelings. But work to move past them. You have the strength right there in your heart to choose to be truly happy for them. And here’s the hot stock tip: Fake it ’til ya make it. If you’re finding yourself being “happy” for someone else’s ‘success’, but it’s clouded by envy, or a feeling of defeat, just smile and say “Congratulations! I’m SOO happy for you.” If you do this enough, one day, you’ll really, REALLY mean it. And you’ll find yourself being inspired. Not defeated. In fact, what does that even feel like? I don’t remember!

Thank God.

I’m reading this book called ‘The Tools: 5 tools to help you find courage, creativity, and willpower – and inspire you to live life in forward motion.’ The first ‘tool’ is to face your fear. Is a “fear” you have to pray success upon others because then you’ll be helping THEM push forward past you? This is a legit “fear” for some people. I used to have this fear. It seems odd, but it’s the truth. You’re SO afraid to want success for your peers SIMPLY because you think that means you’re giving ALL the success in the world to them and they’ll be none left over for you.

The ‘tool’ is facing your fears. Leaning into them- no, that’s not right. Don’t lean… RUN. Run full sprint right toward your fear. Eventually, you’ll be able to FEEL the fear, and then go do what you need to anyway. But you have to keep running at it. And one day, that fear will be gone.

And, by the way, there’s PLENTY of success to go around. ESPECIALLY in Arbonne. I know with all my heart and all my soul and all that I am that I CAN be an Executive National Vice President right along side those 8 amazing women and the other 500+ NVP’s in this company.

So, don’t think for a single second that wishing or praying success and being happy for someone is going to steal that away from you. It will PROPEL it! Keep praying for your dreams to come true, but, while you’re at it why not just put in a little plug for someone else? Remember Karma? She’s not ALWAYS a b***h. Sometimes, she’s the sweetest most gracious thing ever. What you wish upon others is coming from YOUR HEART and it will come back to you; ten fold. Wish SUCCESS upon others, not defeat. You will obtain success instead of defeat if you do this.

All I could think this morning is how flippin’ excited I am about attending 8 Mercedes Benz car presentations in the very near future! EEEKKK!! That means dressing up, getting my hair and nails done, maybe even getting some new shoes!! 😉 Of course, this also means that 8 people have changed hundreds of lives with the gift that is Arbonne. Can’t help but feel inspired about that. ☺

Miss, put down that glue gun

One day I got out of bed and realized it was a payday, which is always exciting… well, normally… except when the paycheck is already gone because you have to pay bills, and you still don’t have enough left over for food, gas, or little tiny extra’s, ya know, like, renting a $2 movie. Most people are all “TGIF!!”, and I used to be all “Oh Lord, help me, it’s Friday again. Please let me get through this day.” 

It wasn’t just because of having to pay bills, it was because I had to go to work knowing I’d miss something at my daughters school, or I’d miss watching my son grow through his toddler years- like I missed seeing my daughters. It made me sad, angry, and resentful. Not only that, but I was putting so much energy into making SOMEONE ELSE wealthy. I don’t know about you, but trying to figure out that WHY makes my brain hurt.

So I quit. It was probably the worst time I could’ve quit my job. We’d just gotten a van we could barely afford WITH my paycheck, and I had nothing lined up. We were hardly making ends meet. Working to barely pay the bills. (Sound familiar?) JOB = Just Over Broke.

Here’s the thing, though: My heart couldn’t take it anymore. My spirit was bawling- hell, I was bawling- and I just simply couldn’t MAKE myself do that anymore. I KNEW I had to take that leap of faith. If I didn’t do it THEN, then WHEN WOULD I? And why wait? I just told myself we’ll figure it out…. and we have! It’s not been mildly easy. We’ve had to go through a LOT of junk since then: emotionally, financially, spiritually, and it’s been 100% worth it.

You see, I didn’t just quit because I was miserable with my job, and quite honestly, my life. I quit because of the possibilities that would open up for me. And they did… I was flooded with opportunity. The one I ran with is my Handcrafted by Heather business. I’ve always been crafty and truly enjoyed MAKING things. I still do! It’s my therapy… but it’s not something that’ll pay the rent…. and then one day this jewelry business led me straight to the foot of Arbonne, which is Swiss for beautiful tree.

I think about that often- usually when I’m making jewelry. How this passion and desire to create something unique and fabulous, this therapy, this outlet of creativity, led me to something so big, and powerful, and wonderful as Arbonne.. and I think of ALL the GREAT things I’m doing with this and all the amazing people I’m meeting and the lives that are going to change……. all because I trusted my heart, I listened, and put down my glue gun, and simply walked out.